Child neglect charges against Stalcup dropped
Child neglect charges were dropped this week against a mother who left her two children in her car at Wal-Mart for what police contended was two hours.
The suspect, Tanaya Stalcup, 28, entered a guilty plea before General Sessions Judge Larry Ross Tuesday to the charge of resisting arrest. She was given a six-month probationary sentence and must attend parenting classes and undergo a drug and alcohol assessment. The child neglect charges were dismissed in light of her plea to the resisting arrest charges.
Stalcup was arrested this June after police responded to a call at Wal-Mart parking lot. Her children, ages 6 and 10, were found inside her car and witnesses maintained they could have been in the car there for two hours. Stalcup was found inside the store and brought outside for questioning.
At some point, Stalcup reportedly pushed aside Patrolwoman Lisa Norris and tried to start her car and leave the scene. A skirmish ensued during which time Stalcup reportedly tried to burn Norris with a lit cigarette accounting for the resisting arrest charge.
According to District Attorney General Dale Potter, child neglect charges would have been difficult to prove against Stalcup given the age of the children, the dispute over how long the children were unattended and the fact they suffered no harm.
“It is not illegal, in itself, to leave a child in a car while a parent is shopping,” Potter said. “Of course there’s several factors to take into account, and one of these would be the age of the child. In this case one of the children was 10. Now, the situation could have been different if it were smaller children or if they were left in a hot car or suffered some type of harm.”
While it is not illegal to leave a child in a car provided the child is not a young toddler, Potter said it is not something he would recommend doing since a parent could be held criminally responsible should some harm come to the unattended child.